Waterproofing-shield for expansion-joints.



T. A. SGHAPFBR. WATEEPROOFING SHIELD PoR EXPANSION JoINTs. APPLIOATIONFILED DBO. 14, 1908.

95 1 ,289. Patented Mar. 8, 1910.

l 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1. l

www i /f/ T. A.. SCHAFFEB.. WATERPROOFING SHIELD POR. EXPANSION JOINTS.

l APPLICATION FILED DEG.14, 1908. 95 1,289, Patented Mar. 8, 1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

NITD S'F'IS raro.

THEODORE A. SCHAFFER, F NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO HYDREX FELT & ENGI-NEERING COMPANY, 0F PORTLAND, MAINE, A CORPORATION OF MAINE. I

WATERPROOFING-SHIELD FOR EXlANSION-JOINTS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THEoDoRn A. Serrarrnn, a citizen of the UnitedStates of America, residing at New York city, in the county of New Yorkand State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Waterproofing-Shields for Expan sion-Joints, of which the followingis a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanyingdrawing.

This invention relates particularly to means for protecting andwaterproong the expansion joints of highway, railroad and other kinds ofbridges, although its use may extend to various structures withoutavoiding the scope or eldof my device.

The object which I have in view is to provide novel and effectivedevices for protecting all suoli joints and their associated parts fromthe corrodingl and disintegrating effects of rainfall or surface water.

To this end my invention consists in the peculiar features andcombinations of parts more fully described hereinafter and pointed outin the claims.

In the present instance and for the purpose of illust-rating my device,it is shown applied to an iron or steel bridge wherein the girders andfloor are generally composed of metal held together by rivets, bolts,angleirons, etc., such bridges being in general use.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a longitudinal sectionthrough a steel railroad bridge provided with an expansion jointequipped with my improved water shedding and excluding devices. Fig. 2,a vertical section on line 2, 2, of Fig. l, through one side of thebridge at the joint, both sections of the bridge being constructedsimilarly. Fig. 3, an exterior top view of the expansion joint, thegirders being shown in longitudinal section, and Fig. 4, a perspectiveview of a sheet metal water-shield composed preferably of thin copper,and adapted to be laid over the expanding and contracting openings inthe structure at the joint.

In the present instance the expansion joint shown is the kind used inskew bridges, but my devices are equally applicable, with the same forceand effect, to the expansion oint of a rectangular bridge.

The reference numeral 1 denotes an ordinary steel or iron bridge girder,and 2 an angle iron which supports one side of the Specification ofLetters Patent.

Application filed December 14, 1908.

Patented Mar. 8, 1910. serial No. 467,503.

bridge floor 8 or that portion of the bridge over which tracks are laidand the load moves.

In skew bridges it is sometimes necessary to break the expansion jointof the girders at the opposite sides thereof by alternate extensions 4of desirable lengths, each of which overlapsthe opposite side of thecontiguous ends 5, 5 of the lioor system 3. rfhis staggered joint is forno other purpose than to allow the two sections of a skew or otherbridge lying upon opposite sides of the joint to expand and contractequally through their length.

The bridge floor 3, which is shown merely as a common type to which mydevice is applied, is known to the art as a trough floor, and consistsof rectangular plates 6 riveted together byY angle irons 7 so as toprovide a series of transverse troughs 8 for the reception of concrete 9which is usually filled in to a point slightly above the tops of thetroughs. The vertical sides of the floor at the girders, as seen in Fig.2, where they are side-lapped by the extensions 4 of the girders areallowed to slide on one another, and protected from chating by twovertical friction plates 17 and 18, one of which is secured to and moveswith the floor sections, and the other to the girders respectively.Concrete 19 iills the space between the plate 18 and girder extension 4to bring the joint between the plates out where it can be most eectivelycovered and protected by my devices. The longitudinal joint, thus formedbetween these two friction plates 17 and 18, is covered over andprotected from the inroads of water by a sheet copper shield 20 and itsextensions which will presently be described.

In the left-hand half of the bridge, as seen in Fig. 1, the top of theconcrete filling is raised to a level above that of the concrete in theright-hand section, thereby leaving a jog between the two sections inwhich is placed a horizontal transverse plate or block 11 having its topflush with that of the concrete and its bottom resting upon a floorplate 10, being securely held in place by horizontal dowel pins 12embedded inthe concrete. The outer face 13 of this bar 11 is shelving orcut under to allow sufficient clearance as it advances toward theopposite right-hand half of the bridge. The Hoor plate 10 overlaps andslides upon the top of a flat plate 14 to form a sliding lapjointbetweenthese two parts. rllhe two trough members 15 of the left-hand section 5of the floor system are allowed to slide during expansion andcontraction on the angle-iron support 27, by means of oblong slots 16,the concrete being chambered out above at 17 to free the nuts 18 andbolts 18.

The shield 20 for the expansive joint, as will be more clearly seen inFig. 4t, consists of any impervious, non-absorbent waterproof material,but preferably sheet copper, which is cnt or formed so as to cover theexpansion joint along the sides of the bridge as well as at thetransif'erse gap 22 in the floor, or wherever the joint is mostvulnerable to surface water. The shape of the shield may be described ashaving the general outlines of two Ls placed back-to-baek andtop-to-bottom, with their backs, which are the transverse members of theshield, hinged together by a movable and flexible water-tight web orfold llhis web is formed out of and is integral with the shield, and isadapted to protect the variable gap 22 between the two contiguous endsof the iioor system.

Vertical longitudinal iianges 28 rise from the sides of the shield 20,and press loosely but snugly against the sides of the girders and theirextensions 4lto still further prevent ingress of water to the corrodibleparts below. Off-sets are formed in the ends of the shield extensions4-0 thus to loosely receive end plates 25 of the girder '-TL to allowthe end plates to creep back and forth therein without buckling theshield. Secured to the opposite ends of the transverse movable web orfold 21 are two vertical fan-shaped 'gage-losers 2G for closing thevertical side gaps 22 between the opposite outer edges of the shield 2Owhere the long lianges 23 and short flanges 28 approach and retreat fromeach other. Vtlhen the upper or lower edges of the transverse web 21move forward or backward, the gap-closing plates rock or oscillate ontheir axes 29 without uncovering the gaps which they protect.

Si. is an apron or strip of .sheet copper provided with upturned ends30. This apron is lined to move with the left-hand bridge section 5, andserves to still further protect the gap 22 from water.

inasmuch as the vertical sides 23 of the shield 20 must movelongitudinally in rela tion to the girders 1, they cannot be sealedagainst the girders to preventwater from running down between the girderand said flange. Therefore l have found it necessary and desirable toprovide a vertical J- plate 32 which is fastened to the gir-der at thetop by rivets 33, and off-set strips 38. This strip lies parallel withthe side of the girder and overhangs and shelters collectively all ofthe flanges 23, and 28. It

felt 35 are laid over and fastened to the shield 20, and extend over thetop of the concrete 9 of the .floor-system. Bricks 3G may afterward belaid on top of the felt for protection against injury from possiblepunctures.

Although have shown and described a specic structure, it is apparentthat my invention might be varied in many rays that would suggestthemselves to those skilled in the art, without departing from the scopeand spirit of my device.

l-laving thus described my invention, what l claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is:

l. )l device for water-shedding, waterproofing and protecting theexpansion joints of bridges and like structures, which device consistsof a flexible impervious, waterproof shield adapted to li-e over anexpansion joint with the opposite sides of the former rigidly fastenedto the contiguous ends of the bridge sections, and having anintermediate f0ldable portion passing over and movable in and across thegap between said ends, in combination with a covering over said. shield.

2. water-shedding device for protecting the expansion joints of metalbridges and like structures, which device consists of a flexible,non-absorbent waterproof shield adapted to be spread over the oint, andhaving a foldable horizontal. portion to cover the gap between theopposing bridge sections, in combination with vertical gapclosers at theopposite ends of the said foldable portion.

A water-shedding device for protecting the expansion joints of bridgesand like structures, whicn device consists of a nonabsorbent waterproofshield adapted to be spread over the joint, and being provided with anintermediate folding element covering the gap between the contiguousends of the bridge floor. in combination with sideextensions providedwith vertical flanges, and J-plates overlapping said flanges.

il. In a water-shedding or waterprooling dev'ce for the protection ofthe expansion joints of bridges and like structures, an iinperviousshield having a foldable portion adapted to cover the gap between theopposing bridge sections, waterprooiing material aid over said shield,and paving bricks or the like laid over said material.

5. 1n a water-shedding or waterprooiing device for the protection of theexpansion joints of bridges and the like, the combination with thecontiguous separated ends of the floor sections, of movable devices forclosing the gaps between said sections in the floor-system andside-portions thereof to protect and cover them.

6. In a water-shedding and waterproofing device for the expansion jointsof bridges and the like, an impervious shield provided with verticalside iianges adapted to cover said joint at the sides of the bridgefloor, and a J-plate over the vertical side flanges.

7. In a device for water-shedding, protecting and waterproofingexpansion joints of bridges and like structures, the combination withthe ioor syst-em and girders, of a pairl of friction plates interposedbetween the girders and the sides of the oor system, said plates beingset off from the girders and having a lling between them and thegirders, and water-proong devices placed over the tops of the frictionplates.

8. In a water-shedding, protecting and waterproofing device for theexpansion joints of bridges and like structures, the combination of afloor system and girders, with a pair of vertical longitudinal frictionplates interposed between'the sides of the tloor system and the girdersand set 0H from the girders by an intervening filling, and waterprooiingand protecting devices placed over the tops of said friction plates.

9. In a water-shedding, protecting and waterproofing device for theexpansion joints of bridges and like structures, the combination with avertical girder and floor system, of a water-shedding web overlappingthe edge of the floor system and the vertical wall of the girderrespectively t0 cover the corner joint between them, and a verticalparallel J-plate secured to and oif set from the girder and coveringover the vertically lapped portion of said web.

In testimony whereof I ailiX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

TI-IEODORE A. SCHAFFER. iVitnesses:

R. G. DU Bols,

C. B. SCHROEDER.

